UK employment falls by 53,000

The number of people in employment has fallen by 53,000 over last quarter, according figures released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS study also found that over the last quarter the unemployment rate was up 0.1%, and now stands at 4.8%. The number of unemployed people rose by 27,000 over the quarter.

The unemployment level was 1.44 million in the three months to June, up 27,000 from the three months to March, but down 33,000 from a year earlier, the survey found.

The number of unemployed men was 843,000 in the three months to June, up 14,000 from the three months to March. The number of unemployed women was 597,000 in the three months to June, up 13,000 from the three months to March.

There were 28.3 million people in work in the UK in April to June and the employment rate was 74.6% - down 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. In the latest quarter employment fell by 53,000, but over the year as a whole employment has risen by 181,000.

The claimant count was 835,200, a fall of 13,700 over the previous month. The number of vacancies, not seasonally adjusted, was 658,300 up 74,100 from a year ago.

Minister for Work, Jane Kennedy, said that despite a fluctuation this month, the labour market "is continuing to improve".

"Despite a mixed picture this month, unemployment has fallen over the year to levels not seen since the mid 1970s and vacancies are high and rising," Ms Kennedy said.

She added: "Since 1997 the number of people in work is up by 1.9 million and all parts of the country have benefited. Not only that but a strong economy and successful labour market policies such as the New Deal for Lone Parents have made a real difference for groups who previously lacked the help they needed to prosper in the labour market."

(gmcg)